Steer euthanized on Blue Springs football field after escape from processing plant
An escaped steer from a meat processing plant was euthanized Wednesday afternoon on the football field at the Blue Springs High School Freshman Campus, a police spokeswoman said.
A second steer also had to be euthanized while a third steer was caught nearby and put on a trailer, said Jennifer Brady, public information officer for the Blue Springs Police Department.
Police were notified that the steers escaped from the Valley Oaks meat processing plant about 12:48 p.m. Wednesday, she said. The cattle made their way down Main Street and through residential and business districts.
One of the steers, which police said was acting aggressively, made it to the freshman campus at 2103 N.W. Vesper St.. The school is only a few blocks from the meat processing plant.
“Based on the unsafe and uncontrolled behavior of the bull, it was euthanized by the Blue Springs Police Department on the Blue Springs High School Freshman Campus football field,” according to a letter sent home to parents from the Blue Springs School District. “The students were safely inside the building during the incident.”
The second steer was euthanized as it was headed onto Interstate 70.
Workers from Valley Oaks, with the help of police, corralled the last steer near the school shortly before 1:45 p.m.
Officers exhausted all options before euthanizing the two steers, Brady said. Officers took precautions to ensure the euthanasia were done as safely as possible, waiting until they had an open space that was not in a residential or crowded business district, Brady said.
